Schools and Testing.

Today's (03/18/11) T&G article  by Jacqueline Reis raised some fair questions regarding the selection of charter school students.  Last night's School Committee meeting raised the following point:

"Information was presented on students at the newly opened Spirit of Knowledge Charter School, which serves Grades 7-9. The district found data on 85 percent of the school’s students from when they were Worcester public school students and found that those students scored higher on the MCAS exams than the district average."

If the selection process is truly a blind lottery, why are they getting the better range of students? Is it because parents of the better performing students are opting out of public schools in favor of charters schools? Is it because charters have a history of pruning out undesirable students?  Or is it merely because our charter schools don't have to educate the more challenging students, like special ed or limited English proficient students? And why did they find data on only 85 percent of the students? These are fair questions to ask and have less to do with pro- or anti-union politics if our tax money is going to charter schools that spend our tax money and keep the profits but aren't accountable to the general electorate.

If charters are more efficient due to better innovations and no union interference, why was a public high school like Brockton High successful in turning around their school? The answer is innovation in the classroom, input from teachers, parents and children, and a cooperative relationship between administration and teachers.  Innovation needs to come from the people in the classrooms, not from administrators, politicians and bureaucrats, as Gary Rosen points out in his most recent piece (03/17/11) in Worcester Magazine. I also recommend this article about the test grading process and hopefully we can turn the current debate on extending No Child Left Behind away from arbitrary testing programs and on actual learning.

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And while we are on the subject of learning, would it be too much to ask our local paper to spell Worcester correctly?

I assumed it would be corrected in the online version, but it hasn't been caught by 5:30pm today.

Who benefits?

This quote, and the thinking that created it, confuses me:

"When Erin McFarlane looks at public workers, she sees lucrative pension benefits she doesn't ever expect to get. And it makes her mad.  "I don't think that a federal employee or government employee is worth any more than anybody else who does their job and does it well," said the Slinger, Wis., woman. She's been working a couple of bartending jobs since January, when she was laid off from her job at a Harley Davidson plant after almost a decade.  She's not alone in seeing public servants as public enemies in some ways.  It's a case of pension envy."

Maybe Erin is angry because her union failed her when management at Harley Davidson decided to restructure after "Harley-Davidson experienced the biggest drop in value. The “legend’s” value dropped by 43% to $4.34 billion, which is most likely connected to the 66% drop in the company profits in two quarters of the last year."

Perhaps the threat of plant closings and turning full time workers into part-time workers has something to do with Harley-Davidson, an iconic American brand, opening up factories in India. As long as we continue to espouse the wonders of free trade and globalization, let's also espouse the wonders of fair trade, environmental regulation, and worker's rights. Without a global campaign against human and environmental exploitation, the Erin McFarlane's of the world will be left angry, underemployed and wondering why they don't have pensions, health care or a chance at employment.

Why are U.S. government workers the only strong unions left in America? Because they are the only ones whose jobs can't be outsourced to India or China. The only threat is privatization, and that hasn't worked very well in Wisconsin. So rather than turn on the last few people in the U.S. willing to stand up for their right to a decent paying job with benefits, why don't you join them, Erin?

I don't know any union members who are millionaires, but I know plenty of billionaires who aren't paying their fare share.

 

(Chart courtesy of MotherJones.com: It's the Inequality, Stupid)

Scott Brown needs money for his next campaign!

Knowing who your elected representatives get campaign donations from and how it affects their voting record is the most important question any voter can ask. So who is Scott Brown asking for donations?

David Koch, the billionaire who funds Americans for Progress, Freedom Works, and doesn't believe in big government yet gets billions in taxpayer subsidies. I recommend this piece about David and his brother Charles from the New Yorker, which I wrote about last September.

A cynic would question how much influence a campaign donor has over an elected official, but this prank call from 'David Koch' to Scott Walker shows how eager Walker was willing to talk to and get advice from his top campaign donor. What advice will the Kochs give Scott Brown and the People's Senate Seat?

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Apparently the Kochs don't always get what they want from their campaign donations, which is more taxpayer money, less regulation, and a government compliant with their wishes.

Speaking of Jeremy Shulkin....

His post today on the MCAS irregularities at Belmont and Goddard was excellent.  Keep up the great work!

Seen and unseen....

There are times where I would rather pass a kidney stone than watch a City Council meeting, and this comes from someone who enjoys politics.  I hate grandstanding, I hate back slapping, and I hate speeches to Buncombe.  Why Buncombe?  (I highly recommend reading Toponymity by John Marciano for that reference.)

Sometimes we're rewarded with moments of bizarre hilarity and great one liners.

Phil Palmieri had an epic moment in last Tuesday's meeting, beginning with his call for a ban on illicit seagull feeding activities in Worcester.  Then he complained about the lack of snow removal in his district.  (Thanks to Jeremy Shulkin's LiveBlog for the quote- I'd watch the meetings on my computer, but Microsoft Silverlight is needed, and it won't install on my Mac.)

"The problem that I have…it was my impression that this mega-snowblower that the city now owns was going to be in districts with small businesses and major arteries so we could clear those streets…I must tell you, I haven’t seen it in my district."

There are many things we don't see in this world that still happen, Phil.  I've seen the mega-snowblower in action on Hamilton Street, which is the southern boundary of your district.  It has happened in your district.  Please return to your monumental task of banning seagulls from drinking Four Loko in Worcester.

And a big thank you to Konnie Lukes for asking: "Do you have a motion buried in all that snow?"

The future site of CityFarm, and Chairs of Worcester.

I'm going to miss sights like this now that everything is melting.  This has to be the most pathetic parking space holder I've seen all winter.  I'm not sure this antique will deter anyone from stealing this space on Abbott Street.  (In a related note, Chairs of Worcester posters are still available.)

I'm not going to miss sights like this sidewalk glacier located at 344 Park Avenue, owned by Impala Meadows LLC.

I hope the City is collecting fines for unshoveled sidewalks from the Krock family.  It's been over a month, and this sidewalk is still uncleared.   I'm not surprised that the sidewalks aren't cleared considering this piece of abandoned property doubles as a homeless shelter during the summer months.

Seeing that this property and all the other Krock owned properties on Winfield Street, Abbott Street and Mayfield Street have been abandoned for over 20 years, wouldn't this be a great site for CityFarm or some community gardens?

Ronald Reagan Will Save Us!!!!

Fantastic, and just what we needed to put our "savior's" 100th birthday in perspective.